Hurry Save The Murray!

Parrakie Wetlands, in the West Avenue Range Watercourse, is home to the
*Southern Bell Frog, vulnerable throughout Australia, requires fresh water and vegetation in water for cover
* Yarra Pygmy-Perch, vulnerable throughout Australia and protected in South Australia
* Mallee Fowl (vulnerable)
* Rosenbergs (or Heath) Goanna (rare), Beautiful Firetail (rare), Blue-Billed Duck (rare), and many other waterfowl.
* The Wetlands support over 130 species of birds.

Contested Drains
The Parrakie group argues that a proposed Bald Hill drain along the eastern boundary of the 720-hectare wetlands would effectively cut off the local catchment water and spark a massive decline of the ecology. In particular, they believe this would adversely impact on the 20ha Rocky’s Swamp, which is purported to have the highest open water Biodiversity Significance Index Score in the SE.

Others argue that deep drains will remove rising saline ground waters that would otherwise salinise extensive areas of potentially productive soil. This follows the widely held view in many parts of Australia that the primary cause of soil salinisation is the inevitable rise in saline groundwater following widespread clearing of native vegetation.